Why Hyperloop is the Most Important Tech Innovation of the Year (Even if It Doesn’t Work Yet)

While there appear to be some pretty major kinks that need to be worked out in Musk’s plans, I love to see entrepreneurs dream big like this. To make the Hyperloop a reality, scientists would of course need to build and test it, and civic leaders would need to sort out the economics of such an ambitious project. But even if it never gets built, the Hyperloop could be the most important thing to happen to the tech scene this year.

Why? We’re at a fascinating moment in the lifecycle of technology. High tech innovation has slowed down and is now largely incremental. Yet, in the lab, breakthroughs in nanotechnology, quantum physics and new materials are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. We are on the cusp of an innovation age that shares many characteristics with the transistor’s inception back in the 1950s. In other words, a revolution is coming that will have just as big an effect on our lives as the invention of the telephone and the computer combined.

If we nurture and invest in ideas like the Hyperloop now, we could rapidly develop real-world, technology-based solutions to some of our most pressing and seemingly unsolvable societal problems. On the other hand, if we let our critics get too vocal and stomp on new, out-of-the-box ideas, then people will stop dreaming big. As a society, we can’t afford to let this get in the way of collaboration and cooperation, which are the keys to real innovation.

If we can rally around the scientists and entrepreneurs who come up with these Big Ideas, we could see innovations like the Hyperloop come to life. Here are some examples of ideas that I see coming to life in the field of SciTech – the types of innovations that will only be possible with the support of the entrepreneurial community; exactly the type of support that the Hyperloop would need to succeed. These ideas hold the potential to solve problems that are both big and small and to affect our lives in profound ways.

1. More Efficient Electrical Infrastructure

Large amounts of energy are lost when electricity travels from point to point via power lines and wires. Quantum mechanics-based technology could make this process much more efficient and keep us from losing so much energy. Superconducting DC power transmission loses roughly 30 times less power than AC components, meaning we would have to generate less energy — especially energy from burning coal. On top of that, alternative energy sources such as solar and wind are initially produces as DC power, and have to be converted to AC for use. With the lossless superconducting DC wires, that conversion would be unnecessary.

2. Better Solar Panels

Solar energy has been has been decried as inefficient and economically infeasible. However, with panels built using the recent breakthroughs of nanotechnology, solar could become a very attractive option in the field of sustainable energy. Nanotech-based solar panels are proving to be more efficient, as well as thinner, lighter and cheaper. If we invested the same amount in solar as we did in nuclear power after World War II, we would have viable, safe solar plants right now that could easily power much of the globe.

3. A Truly Global Internet

Currently, only about one-third of the world’s population has internet access. Mark Zuckerberg and a bunch of industry partners recently announced a plan to get everyone in the world online. These leading entrepreneurs and policymakers believe that it’s absolutely vital to the economic and social health of our planet that everyone have basic internet access. One way that this could come to fruition quicker is through the use of superconducting radio frequency, which makes it possible to build a higher quality internet that reaches much further. This quantum-based technology, along with metamaterial antennas which could greatly extend the range of the mobile internet.

4. Instantaneous Material Identification

Companies like drug detection and identification experts Centice are developing quantum-based solutions that make it possible to identify substances that would otherwise be destroyed by the process of testing them. This allows law enforcement agencies to rapidly identify drugs while in the field, providing a simple and affordable option for law enforcement to gather evidence. While the benefit for law enforcement today is obvious, there are huge pharmaceutical implications for this technology in the future. Imagine pharmacists in the developing world who are able to verify what they’re being sold is the drug they want, and not a cleverly disguised placebo. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, this type of technology will allow us to catch traces of explosives, including on the bodies of people who have been working with them recently. This could prove a real boon in the fight against global terrorism.

5. Stronger Roads

Have you run over any potholes lately? Maybe this seems like a minor issue. But in fact, governments in states like Wisconsin spend 50% of their road budgets every year on repairs. Particularly in climates where freezing and thawing of roads is common, it can be very expensive and time-consuming to keep roads in good condition. Why waste that money when we could put it to better use funding something more important, like education? That just might be possible in the near future. Nanomaterials are being developed today that could completely prevent roads from icing over. This would also eliminate the need for rock salt, which often leaches into nearby waterways, harming ecosystems and polluting water supplies.

6. Automated Medical Diagnostics

Recently, there has been a proliferation of breakthrough technologies in the world of medical devices. If we were to combine technologies like pulse oxymetry, mass-spectrometry of blood components and exhaled air, DNA sequencing, ultra-precise MRI and ultrasonography and others, we could build a more accessible and sophisticated medical diagnostics system. Ultimately, this would help doctors perform more accurate diagnoses, catch diseases earlier and save millions of lives.

A Catalyst for Innovation

The Hyperloop model of releasing an innovative concept to be explored and iterated on by the scientific and entrepreneurial community at large is bold in all the right ways. Even if it never gets built, my hope is that Musk’s plans inspire more entrepreneurs and scientists to apply their technological knowledge and resources to our most pressing practical problems.

Entrepreneurs shouldn’t be afraid to dream big, and investors should be on the lookout for world-changing ideas. We stand on the verge of an innovation explosion, and at such a vital moment in our technological history, we don’t need more skepticism. We need more Hyperloops.

Time to get building.

Sergei Kouzmine is the Managing Partner of QWave Capital, a fund investing in Quantum Technology and other SciTech innovation.